Chapter 2: Preparation for the Unknown

  The new forest inhaled as we entered, its breath a chorus of rustling leaves and the faint hum of bioluminescent bloomers. My brown robe brushed small ferns that glowed down to the roots like veins beneath the soil, their pulse syncing with my heartbeat. A bioluminescent Morse code I couldn’t decode. Above, the galaxy blazed so fiercely it seemed to bleed stardust, as though the stars themselves had leaned closer to Earth.

  Ghyia walked ahead of us like a grandmother reclaiming her garden. Her moccasins sank into moss that flared emerald beneath her weight, like the forest itself greeted her with electric steps. Birch trees tilted their branches toward her, the leaves whispering secrets in a tongue that smelled of petrichor. Her hands etched with wrinkles, brushed a cluster of fronds. They erupted into luminous blossoms, casting our path in an alien glow that made Cole stumble.

  “It’s starting to feel like home,” she murmured, her voice a well of ancient wisdom. “But the forest… it’s hungry.”

  Papa Legba limped beside her, his cane—a branch gnarled as his own knuckles, crowned with a crystal humming energy—tapping out rhythms that made the earth shiver. Each strike sent ripples through the underbrush, as though the forest itself flinched.

  “Hungry for what?” I asked, my mind was already ahead, sifting through variables. A bonfire ritual. Sacred mushrooms. Mountain Man Craig.

  “For us.” She turned to the group, her eyes reflecting galaxies. “The vision quest begins here. But first…”

  She gestured to Enkil, the witch doctor. He stepped forward, his jungle-weave robes rustling with dried leaves. “We have most of what we need,” he said gravely, “but the mushrooms—the ones that can break reality—aren’t here. The forest’s scars run deep. I know of only one source that might have what’s left. Mountain Man Craig.”

  A chorus of groans erupted. Cole’s laugh was a sharp, bitter thing. “Not that guy again! And of course it’s a scavenger hunt. That’s just how this world works! How are we supposed to find this guy anyway?”

  Cinder’s caramel skin gleamed under the starlight. She flicked a tendril of ink-black hair over her shoulder. “I’d rather light myself up and burn this whole forest to ash than trek these woods right now.”

  “Child,” Ghyia chided, though her tone held no heat. “The forest is not your enemy. It just needs time to heal.” Her gaze lingered on Cinder’s trembling hands, the ones that could ignite without a spark. “Respect it, or it will consume you.”

  Cinder huffed but fell silent, her brown eyes narrowing as if challenging the trees to prove her wrong. Journey let out a howl that echoed through the trees, a sound that made even Cole flinch. Two low growls reverberated in response. Twin pairs of large emerald eyes pierced the dark. Cole knew this feeling once before, not too long ago. But two creatures, he wasn't prepared for that revelation.

  “Mojo and Kumori,” Ghyia said, her tone softening. “They’ll guide us.”

  The enormous panther-like creatures emerged, their obsidian coats rippling like liquid shadow. Mojo, the larger, more muscular one, purred with a sound like a revving engine, his long haired mate Kumori circling with a sleek predatory grace. Their jumbo size green eyes locked onto us with unnerving intelligence.

  “Bloody hell,” Blazer breathed, clutching his glow weapons. “We’re riding those?”

  “Only if you don’t mind getting scratched,” Cinder shot back, already straddling Kumori. A ripple of heat distorted the air around them, but the creature didn’t flinch.

  I mounted Mojo, his muscles coiling beneath me like compressed springs. “Blazer with Cinder. Journey and I take Mojo. The rest help Ghyia. Let’s move!”

  The cats bolted, their paws barely grazing the ground. The forest blurred into streaks of glow green and starlight as we sped deeper into the thicket. Indeed the forest was hungry. The trees fought us now—vines snapped at our ankles, branches lashed out like whips, the earth shifting beneath our feet as though the forest itself sought to devour us. But Mojo and Kumori found their rhythm, weaving through the chaos with precision.

  “This is mental!” Blazer laughed, his voice swallowed by the wind as Kumori leaped over a gnarled oak. I scanned the shadows, my mind sifting through future probabilities.

  How far? How long must I hold on for dear life?

  The Armageddon had shattered this land—nuclear winters, solar flares, cities reduced to dust. Yet Craig, with his fractured wisdom, had built a cabin of resilience. The forest respected him. Feared him. He commanded it. What secrets had Craig discovered in the forest to allow him to survive? To endure so?

  When the trees parted, revealing Craig’s two-story cabin nestled in a clearing, the relief was palpable. Smoke curled from the chimney, and the flicker of a lantern softened the night’s edge. The cabin itself was a relic—a fortress of rough-hewn logs surrounded by a garden of medicinal plants.

  “We made it,” Journey breathed, dismounting Kumori. Her relief was fleeting.

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  I hesitated. Something prickled at the edges of my awareness. Using my power, I visualized the path ahead. Traps. Crystal traps embedded in the soil, lines between the trees, hidden as harmless debris. I alerted the group, urgency sharpening my voice. “Watch your step. Craig’s property is laced with his ‘art.’” I made an explosion gesture with my hands, Blazer’s face paling as we approached the cabin.

  Its walls were a menagerie of wood carvings—bears, wolves, owls, their eyes seeming to track us. Craig emerged, his thick red beard framing a face weathered by years of survival. He carried a lantern in one hand, a chainsaw slung over his shoulder, and a human skull—Skully—cradled in the other. He kept murmuring to it as if it were speaking back to him.

  “Welcome, welcome! You are very lucky. I’m glad you avoided my traps. I have to say I wasn’t expecting visitors,” he boomed, his voice a blend of gravel and honey. His voice switched to a sing-song lilt: “Skully says you’ve got a shiny look about you. What brings you here? Here to trade, I hope.”

  “We’re here for some mushrooms,” I said, dismounting Mojo. “We need them for a ritual.”

  Craig’s eyes narrowed. “Mushrooms, eh? What kind are you looking for? My stocks are low right now. The forest got messed up the other day. Not sure if you noticed.”

  Blazer jumped at the question. “We’re looking for the magic ones.”

  “The magic kind… Hm. Those are scarce these days. The forest’s… testy.” He tapped Skully with a finger. *Thunk*. “Who knows how long until they come back again. Those are my food, you know. It’s how I stay so fit. Full of vitamins I bet. Don’t just go giving them away.” He tapped Skully again. “Skully don’t like hunger, do we, buddy? What’s that buddy? You think we can do a fair trade?”

  “Of course, we understand,” Blazer said, stepping forward. “But we’re willing to trade. We only need one. We have crystals—osmosis crystals. They’re quite valuable.”

  Craig’s eyes lit up at the mention of crystals. He set Skully down gently and rubbed his hands together. “Crystals, eh? Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  Blazer poured out a handful of crystals from his belt pouch. They shimmered like trapped rainbows. Craig’s eyes widened as he examined them, his fingers tracing the facets. “These are beauties,” he muttered. “Would you look at this Skully! So many colors… And they are all shining brightly!”

  Then he grinned, all teeth and mischief. “How about one of my carvings? They’re one of a kind, you know.”

  Cinder rolled her eyes then stepped forward, her heat rising causing the air to ripple and emphasize her words. “We don’t have time for games, Craig. We need a mushroom now.”

  Craig chuckled, unfazed by her tone. “Feisty one, aren’t you? Skully says I shouldn’t trade. But I don’t know… Alright, here’s the deal: you give me those crystals, and I’ll give you the mushroom and you can take one of my creations with you.”

  Blazer almost choked. “You want the whole bag for one mushroom?!”

  Craig folded his arms with a smug look. “And don’t forget a one-of-a-kind creation. It’s a fair trade.”

  I gestured to Blazer to let it go. I shook Craig’s hand, knowing it was the best deal we were going to get. “You’ve got a deal.”

  “Good good! See Skully I told you so. You need to be nicer to our guests next time.”

  Craig gestured to me to enter his cabin. “Please please come pick out something that calls to you.”

  The warmth inside enveloped us like a lover’s embrace. A fire crackled in a stone hearth, and the air smelled of cedar and smoke. Mushrooms hung in bundles from the ceiling—ruby-red, sapphire-blue, their spores pulsing faintly. The walls were choked with carvings: figures of animals, gods, and creatures that defied reason. There were a variety of sizes, some as small as figurines, one a buddha so large I doubted it could even leave the house. With so much clutter I didn’t know where to start. Then I sensed it.

  Something called to me—a magnet tugging at my bones. I followed it to a corner, past Craig’s proudly displayed bear, to a small pewter dragon. Its tail coiled around a lavender crystal, its metallic sheen glimmering with a metallic silver lining. The moment my fingers brushed the crystal, fatigue flooded me—a sharp, electric drain.

  Journey’s voice came in a haze. “That’s the most sensitive and wisest of colors. That hue reveals the psychic power of attunement with self.”

  Craig jumped giddily. “Amazing! I’ve never seen anyone pulled to that color before! Excellent excellent! Yes yes, see, fair trade.”

  With the crystal draining my energy, the journey back was a blur—trees snapping at our heels, vines tangling around Kumori’s legs. But with the mushroom secured, the forest seemed to relent, as though satisfied we’d paid our toll.

  As we rode, I studied the pewter dragon. Its crystal pulsed faintly, drinking from my reserves. I considered how this crystal might be able to help me in my vision quest.

  Back at camp, the bon fire’s light pulsed like a living heart against the forest’s bio glow, casting elongated shadows that seemed to writhe with the rhythm of the Ultrasapiens. I tugged at the linen of my makeshift loincloth, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. Cole, already stripped to similar garb, smirked from the sidelines. “Relax, dude. You’ll be hallucinating soon enough—won’t matter what you’re wearing. Just try not to shit yourself.”

  Blazer danced with his glow-stick weapons, casting hypnotic tracers. Blair sketched ephemeral symbols in the air, her creations dissolving into stardust. Gaze and Edyira exchanged wary glances, the latter’s antlered crown glowing faintly.

  I understood why I was wearing the loincloth. What I didn’t understand is why Cole was wearing one too. He wasn’t going on a vision quest with me. Odd.

  Ghyia’s voice cut through the air, warm as aged whiskey. “Prepare your spirit, Arch,” she murmured, her weathered hands resting on my temples. “The mushrooms of the Veiled Grove do not deceive; they reveal. But remember—Shado’s soul stretches far away. Do not linger in hell’s grip.”

  Enkil, draped in woven plants that smelled of earth and myrrh, stepped forward. He handed me a crimson mushroom, its cap red with blue dots. “Eat.” The thing vanished in one bite, dissolving into a sugary sweetness that made me jerk in surprise. “It tastes like an Eclair? Seriously?”

  Cole snorted, earning a swat from Ghyia. The drink came next—a thick liquid Enkil ladled from a gourd, reeking of rotting fruit and smoke. I gagged mid-swallow, the bitter tang burning my throat. As Enkil hissed into my face, blowing a plume of red sage-laced smoke that stung my eyes, the world began to tilt. The onset was quick.

  “If anyone is ready to complete their dream, Arch, it’s you. Hold fast.” Ghyia’s touch was electric. Her words, though whispered, echoed like thunder. “For many the Dreamscapes are only meant to be traversed. For you, it is yours to conquer.”

  Ktroll’ short stature materialized in my peripheral vision—a wizened figure with eyes like murky glass—I stiffened. The dream lord tilted his head. “Your psyche is a maze, Arch. I’ll keep it intact… mostly. But tread carefully. Some corners of the mind don’t want to be seen.”

  Cole shook my hand. “Arch, you got this.”

  “How are you so confident? I’m terrified.”

  Cole grinned, “Because. Arch, you will complete your dream and rescue Shado.” Cole’s ultimate power just activated. I now no longer had a choice in the matter. I was going to because I was ordered to. The next action I took was completely involuntary. I handed Cole my pewter dragon. “If it looks like I’m struggling, hand me the crystal.”

  Cole’s power was already steering me. Journey and Cinder each took my hand, the former’s voice a gentle current. “I’ll guide you,” she said, her hands squeezing mine. They each gave me a kiss on my cheek. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. Cinder’s flame-kiss warmth seeped into my skin, her fire humming in my veins.

  “And I’ll… illuminate things and keep you on track,” Journey added, her smirk fading after seeing my eyes roll back into my head.

  Then Ghyia’s palms slid away, and the fire’s roar drowned out all sound. My knees buckled as the world shattered—a kaleidoscope of fractal light swallowed me whole. I felt as though I was tumbling through rainbows. Ktroll’s laughter cut through the chaos. “Welcome to the funhouse, kid. Let’s see if you’ve got the guts to face what’s hiding inside of you.”

  The dream began.